Chapter 39 of The Great House is here in full — 223 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter 39 of The Great House is here in full — 223 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair. He was unhappy and ill at ease. He looked at the fire, he looked askance at Mary. “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?” “Nothing,” Mary answered, “not a word.”
Chapter 39 of The Great House is here in full — 223 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
with suspicion or disapproval
From this reading “He looked at the fire, he looked askance at Mary.”
smooth-haired breed of hound with short legs and long ears
From this reading “THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.”
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading “THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.”
move gently or carefully
From this reading “He was unhappy and ill at ease.”
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading “He was unhappy and ill at ease.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.”
rejecting or disowning or disclaiming as invalid
From this reading “THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.”
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading “He was unhappy and ill at ease.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “He looked at the fire, he looked askance at Mary.”
take into consideration for exemplifying purposes
In this reading “He looked at the fire, he looked askance at Mary.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “Nothing,” Mary answered, “not a word.”
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was unhappy and ill at ease.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “Nothing,” Mary answered, “not a word.”
with suspicion or disapproval
From this reading He looked at the fire, he looked askance at Mary.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He was unhappy and ill at ease.
smooth-haired breed of hound with short legs and long ears
From this reading THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
move gently or carefully
From this reading He was unhappy and ill at ease.
start firing a weapon
From this reading He looked at the fire, he looked askance at Mary.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was unhappy and ill at ease.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading He was unhappy and ill at ease.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked at the fire, he looked askance at Mary.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading He looked at the fire, he looked askance at Mary.
mean or intend to express or convey
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Nothing,” Mary answered, “not a word.”
not one thing; not anything
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.
rejecting or disowning or disclaiming as invalid
From this reading THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE DEED OF RENUNCIATION Basset moved in his chair.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading He was unhappy and ill at ease.
up to a particular time
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was unhappy and ill at ease.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading “Nothing,” Mary answered, “not a word.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “But do you mean,” he said, “that you knew nothing about this until you had my letter?”
Chapter 39 of The Great House by Stanley John Weyman holds 223 sentences, grouped into 45 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 39 holds 223 sentences of The Great House, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 39 of The Great House by Stanley John Weyman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 223 sentences, grouped into 45 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 39 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Great House by Stanley John Weyman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9435 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39294 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39294, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1887 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Great House to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Great House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
